The known religions of the world are Hinduism, Zoroastrainism, Jainism, Budhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Confucionism, Taoism, Shintoism. Barring the last three India is the above of all these religions, the oldest being Hinduism. Hinduism does not own its origin to any prophet. Whereas some date can be fixed for the origin of other religions, no such date can be fixed for Hinduism as it is believed to be a revealed religion. In ancient times it was known as Snanthan Dharma or Vaidik Dharma. Snanthan Dharma means eternal religion. Vaidik Dharma means the religion of Hinduism. The Vedas are considered the oldest books in the library of man. The Vedas are the foundation all scriptures of the Hinduism. The term "Veda" is derived from the root world "Vid" which means to know. When applied to a scripture, it signifies a book of knowledge. The Vedas represent the spiritual experience of the Rishis of yore .

The multiplicity of idols and symbols and the general sacredness attach to them in this country baffle the foreigner as a contradiction to the very spirit of age long Hindu philosophy. God is worshipped in the strangest form conceivable. And to impress the truth that God is not for man alone, the followers of Hindu religion portray and cherish the legends of worship offered by monkey, bird or elephant.

Rajaji explains: "All these varieties of shape and size impress on us God's formlessness and incomprehensibility, his transcendent quality as well as his all-pervasiveness. And this not by teaching alone, but by developing a practical association of ideas in the minds of the pious and making what is ugly into something beautiful and what is lowly into something inexpressibly holy. That God is formless that can be taught best through realizing Him in a hundred different forms. That he is everywhere can be best realized, not by refusing Him a house or an image, but by lodging Him in a thousands forms, and showing the potency or worship in each and all of these forms."

The late Shankaracharya Kanchi Swami Chandrasekharendra Saraswati says "We don't have many gods. As a matter of fact we think of God in many ways and worship him in many forms. We give a separate name to each of these forms to help us in our acts of worship and contemplation. The forms may be different, the names may be different, but the ultimate Truth, that is Divinity, is one and same."The Nazadayasana cult of Iron was closely akin to the Vedic religion in India. In fact the most ancient Iranian scriptures known as Gathasa (meaning hymns) were written in the Avesta language which is much closer to Rig Veda Sanskrit in modern Sanskrit, Mazdayasna in Avesta, literally means God worship (mazda God and Yasna - worship). The term Ahura Mazada is one of the most commonly used in Avesta for God just as Allah is in Arabic and Jehovah in Hebrew. Ahura means Life Giver and Mazda can be transposed into Sanskrit as Mahhaada, "Mahhaa' means great and 'da' means giver.

Therefore, Ahuvra Mazda is the Great life giver or the great Creater. Mazadayasana as revived by Zarathushtra, provided inspiration for Jewish, Christians and Islamic scriptures and has much in common with the Vedic doctrines and ceremonials. The Zoraoastrian 'Mithra' is the same as Mithra, the sun God of the Vedas. The Yama of the Veda is the same as Yima of the Avesta. The vedic rain God 'Indra' becomes the demon 'Andra in Avesta. 'Yagna' in Sanskrit means sacrifice, in Avesta 'Yasna' means worship or prayer. 'Atharvan' in means five priests in both Sanskrit and Avesta. Fire, which is considered as the son of Ahura Mazda, is the most sacred symbol of God. Fire brings the message that God is light of lights. The words Jain and Jainism are derived from the Sanskrit root ji, which means to conquer. A jain is one who believes in conquering the flesh to attain to that supreme purity which leads to infinite knowledge, infinite happiness, and infinite power - the same conquering the flesh and the same self-liberation that all other religions of India have taught. It is said that Jainism is as old as the Vedic religion, Vardhamana, knowns also as Mahavira, or the Supreme spiritual hero, whose name has come to be identified with Jainism, is but the last in a long series of inspired prpphets, or seers.

According, to its tradition, Jainism goes back to the beginning of time and its truths were gradually revealed to certain divine men called tirthankaras. Its cosmogony has paralleled that of other Indian faiths in that it postulates a series of cosmic cycles, consisting of utsarpini, or ages of expansion and avasarpini, or ages of contraction or decay-our own age being one of the latter. During the present period of contraction, twenty-four tirthankras have appeared from time to time Rsabha being the first and Mahavira the last. Rsabha is, then, the founder of the sect for the present cycle, having uttered the truths by which the cycle is governed. His name is to be found in the Rig-Veda, and the story of his life is told in two of the Puranas, the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. In all these scriptures he is regarded as a great saint .

Buddhism is the link between India and the rest of Asia, the transmitter of Indian culture. Prince Gautama, the name of Buddha, before he attained his illumination was born in 560 BC at Kapilavastu, now in Nepal. At the time of Gautama's birth, the spiritual culture in India was at its lowest ebb. What was then universally recognized as religion consisted wholly in the observance of rituals and sacrifice, for people had forgotten the simple fact that "religion in ralisation" After renouncing a royal family life and at the end of six years of rigorous sadhana, the much desired enlightenment dawned upon Gautama and he became Bodhisattva (enlightened being). The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath, near Varanasi, and fulfilling the mission of his advent, at the ripe old of eighty, attained Nirvana on a Vaisakha Purnima (full moon) day, which is known as the thrice blessed day, as on this day he was born and on this day he attained enlightenment. Lauding the impact of Buddha's teachings in ancient India, Gandhiji says:"Gautama was saturated with the best that was in Hinduism and gave life to some of the teachings that were buried in the Vedas and which were overgrown with weeds. By his immense sacrifice, by his great renunciation and by his immaculate purity, he left an indelible impress upon Hinduism which owes an eternal debt to that great teacher."

Swami Vivekananda acknowledged Buddha as "the greatest man ever born, beyond compare, the greatest combination of heart and brain that ever existed, the greatest soul power that has ever been manifested." Islam is the religion of peace. Peace cannot exist without good-will and toleration. The world 'Islam' itself comes from the same root as 'Salam' - peace. Every Muslim salutes his brother 'peace be unto you'. A Muslim, according to the Holy Quran, is he who had made his peace with God and man. Submission to the will of Allah gives man complete peace, His desires and ambitions no longer haunt him day and night and his failures never trouble him. If a calamity befalls him, it is the will of the Almighty to which he has submitted, and which in its immense wisdom and goodness, is never malicious .

The Quran puts the real defination of a Muslim very beautifully in the following verse :

"Yea, whoever submits himself entirely to Allah, and who is the does of good to others, he has his reward from Allah, and there is no fear for him, nor shall he grieve" (II-112).

Prophet Muhammad when asked "What is Islam?" Replied "Purity of speech and hospitality". The founder of Islam say "A perfect Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands mankind is safe and a "Muhajir" is he who fleeth from what God what forbidden."

(Those companions of the prophet who fled from Mecca and went to exile with him were called Muhajirs (performers of Hijrah) "The greatest enemies of Allah are those who are entered into Islam and do acts of infidelity, and who, without cause, shed the blood of men, "warns the prophet.

Christianity derives its name from Christ. The doctrines of the Christian religion are based chiefly on Judaism. Jesus never professed to abolish Judaism and to set up new religion of his own. He says : "Think not that I am come to destroy the lay, or the prophets. I am come to destroy, but to fulfill." Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary in Bethelem of Judea. Joseph was a carpenter in Nazareth, a large village in Galilee, the northern province of Palestine. When Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist he was the spirit of God descending life a dove and lighting upon him and a voice from heaven was heard saying, "This is my son, in whom I well pleased."

Jesus went from village to village spreading his new Gospel, healing the sick, consoling the troubled and even bringing back the dead to life. Hundred of thousands gathered around him and he was hailed as the "King of the Jews." This aroused jealousy an hatred amongst the jewish authorities and he was crucified in Jerusalem for treason. At the time of crucifixion there was an earthquake, terrible thunder and darkness all over the earth. But Jesus, as he was of divine origin having only love and affection and compassion at the time of crucion parayed to God saying, "O Lord, forgive them for they know not what they doeth."The teaching of Jesus, which is chiefly ethical is embodied in the sermon on the Mount, the Lord's prayer and parables known as the parables of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son and the sheep and the goats. The Lord's prayer given below is extremely inspiring and is recited by Christians all over the world every morning.

"Our Father which art in Heaven Hallowed by thy name.
Thy Kingdom Come
Thy will be done, in heaven, as in earth
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiver our debtors
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. .

For thine in the kingdom and the power, and the glory for ever." The cardinal doctrines of Sikhism are the unity or oneness of God and the brotherhood of man. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion made no attempt to initiate a new religion. He only wanted to bring about a synthesis between the teachings of Islam and Hinduism. He tried to Knit the Hindus and Muslims in one league of love of God and service to humanity. Sikhism is a movement essentially of Bhakti. Guru Nanak taught that one can obtain his emancipation through the name of Hari.

The Adigranth, which is regarded as the greatest work of Punjabi literature largely the work of the fifth Guru, Arjun Dev. He brought together the writings of the first four gurus and those of the Hindu and Muslim seers. His successors made a few additions and the tenth guru, Govind Singh, said that there would be no more gurus and the Granth should be regarded as the living voice of all the prophets, guru vani. Guru Arjun says that the bood is the abode of God : pothi prarmeshvar ka dham. The Sikh creed includes belief in the ten gurus and the Adi Granth. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan observes. "A remarkable feature of the Adi Granth is that it contains the writings of the religious teachers of Hinduism, Islam, etc. This is in consistency with the tradition of India which respects all religions and believes in the freedom of the human spirit. Indian spiritual tradition is not content with mere toleration. We must appreciate other faiths, recognize that they offer rich spiritual experiences and encourage sacrificial experiences and encourage sacrificial living and inspire their followers to noble way of life. The Sikh gurus who complied the Adi Granth had this noble quality of appreciation of whatever was valuable in other religions traditions.

The Adi Grnath includes hymns by Farid (twelth century), Neni (twelth century), Jayadeva (twelth century), Sadhna (thirteenth century), Trilocana (b. 1267), Namdev (thirteenth century), Ramananda (1360-1450), Sain (1390-1440), Pipa (b. 1425), Kabir (1440-1518), Ramdas(fifteenth century), Dhanna (early sisteenth century) Bhikan (d. 1573), Surdas (b. 1528) Paramananda, (a disciple of ramananda). Adi Shankara showed of way for universal religious harmony through his Advaita Siddanta. He was a revolutionary is spirit, yet he attached the highest importance to tradition. He brought philosophy to the common man and his impact on intellectuals, notably the leaders of Indian Renaissance, was great.

Adi Shandara, born in 8 AD, lived only for thirty two years. Tradition has it that he was an incarnation of Lord Siva. The Hindu tradition holds that divine incarnation (Avatara) takes place for a definite purpose, Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita, "for the protection of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of religion I come into being from age to age." (8-IV) The advent of Adi Sankara is bellieved to be for the preservation of universal religion.

The basic doctrines of Sankars's philosophy, known as Advaita Vedanta, are three.

1. Reality is one and non-dual
2. The World is not utilimately real.
3. The individual soul is none other that the Supreme Reality. .

The one non-dual, the world, cannot be viewed as something separate from the highest reality. The world is not ultimately real means that the world separated from the highest reality is illusory. When Sankara taught on the basis of the upanishadic teaching that the individual soul is no other that the Supreme Reality, he wanted to emphasis not only the divine nature of human beings but also the oneness of all human beings. Sankara's philosophy has fascinated intellectualsm theologians and scholars beyond the shores of India. Sister Nivedita observes: "Western people can hardly imagine a personality like that of Sankaracharya. We contemplate with wonder and delight the devotion of Francis of Assissi; the intellect of Abelard, the virile force and freedom of Martin Luther and the political efficiency of Ignatius Loydha, but who could imagine all these united in one person."

Jawaharlal Nehru, in the Discovery of India, describes Shankaracharya as "a curious mixture of a philosopher and a scholar, an agnostic and a mystic, a poet and a saint who strove hard to synthesize the diverse currents that were troubling the mind of India and to build a unite of outlook of that discovery." India did not believe in uniformity of type either in religion or in culture. It believed in a expression held together by a central thread of unity. Swami Ranganathananda explains: " This idea derives from its philosophy, which holds that unity in variety is the plan of the universe and not a dull, dead uniformity. India speaks of the search for the one in the many, the one that gives meaning and significance to the many, like the figure 1 behind a zero or zeros. And so, in religion, she consistently upheld the idea that the goal was one, but the paths were many.

To the people of India, therefore, toleration of different forms of faith and culture, of belief and practices, becomes a natural controllary of their outlook and philosophy.

Praveen Davar